February 19, 2020 1212 PM
UNITED STATES — A new partnership aims to help aging Latino people get better access to healthcare.
The partnership, between the League of United Latin American Citizens and the National Council on Aging, aims to bring “life-changing benefits to the growing number of Latino seniors and adults with disabilities throughout the United States,” the latter organization stated Tuesday in a news release.
The NCOA, which was first formed in 1950, has for decades helped represent older Americans navigate the confusing world of medical providers and health insurance. Under the new arrangement, LULAC would help connect aging Latino Americans to these same benefits.
The goal, the groups say, is to make sure Latino Americans are better informed about benefit programs that might apply to them. Those include: Medicare Part D Extra Help/Low-Income Subsidy, Medicare Savings Programs, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicaid, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, State Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs and Supplemental Security Income (SSI, also known as Social Security).
On Tuesday, both groups were celebrating the news. Sindy Benavides, the national CEO for LULAC, said in a statement that she was “extremely pleased and excited to form this new relationship with such a respected and well-known organization.”
The move, she added, would help ensure that older and disabled Latinos are “made aware of vital benefits, which will help them remain healthy and enjoy a better quality of life.”
Anna Maria Chávez, the executive vice president for NCOA, likewise said in a statement the partnership would help two historic organizations better serve “two of the fastest-growing demographics in America” — namely, Latino seniors and disabled adults. There were 2.9 million Latinos over the age of 65 in the United States in 2010, a figure that’s expected to balloon to 17.5 million by 2050.
